MARY  S.  ACKERMAN  HOYT  HOSPITAL  AND  DISPENSARY 


No.  149. 

Our  Hospital  in  India 

By  S.  D.  DOREMUS 

The  moon  was  at  its  full  as  I alighted  from  my  first 
railway  journey  in  India,  and  found  a warm  welcome 
awaiting  me  in  Jhansi  from  Dr.  Alice  L.-  Ernst  and 
Dr.  Rose  Eairbank.  Its  soft  light  flooded  the  bungalow 
they  call  home  and  as  every  tree  and  plant  in  the  Compound 
stood  out  in  distinct  outline,  one  felt  as  if  looking  at  an 
ideal  picture  of  the  Orient. 

The  Mary  S.  Ackerman  Hoyt  Memorial  Hospital  opened 
in  1900,  being  the  one  object  of  my  long  journey  from  Bom- 
bay, two  visits  to  it  the  first  day  of  my  arrival  were  none  too 
many  to  deepen  my  impressions.  Not  only  did  I look  at 
this  beautiful  building  with  interest  all  my  own,  but  as  I 
caught  sight  of  the  large  and  familiar  inscription,  “Woman’s 
Union  Missionary  Society  of  America,”  on  the  gateway,  I 
was  seeing  everything  with  the  eyes  of  all  the  friends  at 
home,  interested  in  this  branch  of  our  work. 

Nothing  could  be  more  attractive  than  the  situation — en- 
closed by  a high  substantially  built  stone  wall,  adorned  with 
trees  of  dense  and  graceful  tropical  foliage,  a grassy  lawn 
relieving  the  arid  red  soil  of  the  drive,  and  a picturesque 
temple  with  lofty  towers  of  Oriental  architecture  looming  in 
the  distance.  Our  photographs,  accurate  as  they  are,  give 
a faint  idea  of  the  beauty  and  substantiality  o'?  the  building, 
and  the  harmony  of  its  proportions.  The  brick  walls  pointed 
in  white,  give  almost  an  effect  of  pink  color,  and  the  broad 
stone  verandahs,  relieved  here  and  there  with  blooming 
plants,  all  seemed  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  one  whose 
name  stands  out  in  conspicuous  letters  over  the  entrance. 

The  Ward,  filled  with  beds,  with  its  lofty  ceiling  and  wide 
casement  windows,  gave  thorough  ventilation,  and  an  invit- 
ing glimpse  of  the  attractive  enclosure.  Two  Wards  for 
private  patients  open  from  the  central  one,  and  an  operating 
room  with  glass  skylights  is  at  the  extreme  end.  Five  pa- 
tients, one  of  whom  had  passed  through  a severe  surgical 


2 


operation,  were  making  a rapid  recovery,  and  as  the  physi- 
cians and  nurses  passed  from  one  to  the  other,  they  were 
followed  with  appealing  glances  from  the  large  soft  eyes, 
peculiarly  the  charm  of  Oriental  women. 

The  Dispensary,  opened  in  1898,  presented  a busy  scene, 
as  the  native  helpers,  under  the  direction  of  our  well-known 
Harriet,  were  preparing  remedies  for  various  patients.  The 
airy  waiting  room  serves  the  double  purpose  of  a school 
gathered  from  our  Compound. 

The  sites  of  our  Mission  Bungalow  and  Memorial  Hos- 
pital have  been  wisely  chosen  outside  the  gates  of  the  walled 
city,  which,  with  its  narrow  streets  and  densely  crowded 
thoroughfares,  represents  many  types  of  life  in  India. 

Our  missionary  physicians  can  best  tell  the  story  of  our 
Hospital  foundation  and  what  we  are  doing  through  its 
blessed  ministry. 

THE  PLACE  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

“Jhansi,  situated  in  nearly  the  geographical  centre  of  In- 
dia had  until  about  fifteen  years  ago  been  isolated  from  the 
world  in  the  midst  of  a vast  jungle.  It  is  a large  Military 
Cantonment  and  Civil  Station,  and  the  headquarters  of  the 
Indian  Midland  Railway  Administration.  The  city  is  a fine 
example  of  a walled  town,  having  nine  principal  gates,  and 
dominated  by  a massively  built  stone  fort  which  is  occupied 
by  detachments  of  British  and  native  troops. 

“Throughout  this  vast,  region  for  hundreds  of  miles,  vil- 
lages are  thickly  scattered,  and  in  a very  few  of  them  has 
the  Gospel  ever  been  preached.  The  need  of  missionary 
work  is  great  in  the  direction  of  our  Hospital  situated  just 
outside  the  city  gate,  where  the  people  pass  us  on  their  way 
to  the  native  market.  Because  Jhansi  is  so  full  of  Mohamme- 
dans, the  purdah  (behind  the  curtain)  system  is  strictly  en- 
forced. Every  morning,  there  are  numbers  of  two-wheeled 
vehicles  drawn  up  in  front  of  our  Dispensary,  very  closely 
curtained  because  of  the  zenana  women  inside,  who  have 
come  to  us  for  treatment.  They  say  in  the  city  in  recom- 
mendation of  us,  that  the  Mission  Hospital  is  a strictly 
zenana  Hospital. 


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“In  the  Hospital,  as  a sort  of  head  nurse,  we  have  a girl, 
trained  in  a mission  Hospital  in  Hodiana  in  the  Punjab,  and 
four  native  girls  whom  we  are  training  for  nursing.  These 
girls  have  all  been  educated  in  Mission  Schools  and  Orphan- 


DISPENSARY  OF  MARY  S.  ACKERMAN  HOYT  HOSPITAL,  JHANSI 

ages,  and  they  are  Christians.  We  hope  it  will  be  possible 
to  make  very  useful  women  out  of  them. 

“As  Christian  instruction  is  given  daily,  we  notice  a great 
difference  in  the  women  when  they  leave  the  Hospital  and 
come  hack  to  us  later.  There  have  been  two  or  three  in  the 


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last  year  ready  to  accept  Christianity  and  to  give  up  home 
and  all  for  Christ. 

“As  we  try  to  keep  our  Hospital  beautifully  clean,  it  ought 
to  be  a great  object  lesson  to  tliese  people,  who  hardly  know 
what  “clean”  means.  In  this  respect  the  rich  do  not  differ 
from  the  poor.  True,  they  have  more  jewels  and  more  bed- 
ding and  clothing,  but  their  liouses  are  never  scrubbed,  and 
washable  articles  seldom  see  water. 

“As  a rule  most  of  the  women  came  first  to  the  Dispensary 
as  out-patients.  When  we  saw  that  nursing,  food,  and  hy- 
gienic surroundings  were  essential  to  their  recovery,  we 
urged  upon  them  the  necessity  of  becoming  inmates  of  the 
Hospital.  To  show  the  patient  and  her  friends  how  happy 
and  comfortable  we  make  those  under  our  care  we  often  took 
them  to  see  the  Wards  and  their  contented  occupants,  and 
impressed  upon  them  the  facts  that  there  were  no  men  about, 
and  that  the  patients’  food  was  cooked  by  a Brahmin  woman, 

OUR  PATIENTS. 

“I  remember  being  called  one  morning  to  see  a sick  woman 
in  a neighboring  village.  I was  a stranger  to  the  family,  but 
feeling  sure  that  this  woman’s  life  depended  upon  her  getting 
help  at  once,  I urged  upon  them  the  necessity  of  her  coming 
into  the  Hospital,  and  asked  their  consent  to  my  taking  her 
back  with  me.  It  recpiired  some  talking  and  more  time  than 
I liked  to  give,  but  in  the  end  I was  successful  and  drove 
away  with  the  patient  in  my  carriage,  where  she  was  lying 
on  a fairly  satisfactory  bed  made  of  comfortables  and 
blankets.  She  recovered  her  health  completely  and  since 
then  many  others  from  the  same  village  have  come  to  us 
through  her  testimony. 

“Other  patients  I have  had  carried  on  their  beds  from 
their  homes  to  the  Hospital.  In  some  instances  they  were 
so  weak  that  I had  to  walk  by  the  side  of  the  bed  as  it  was 
being  borne  along  by  four  men,  to  watch  the  pulse  and  to 
give  necessary  stimulants.  Such  a procession  would  natur- 
ally attract  some  attention,  and  I am  thankful  to  say  that  all 
these  cases  got  well,  for  had  it  been  otherwise,  the  timidity 
of  many  might  have  been  increased.  One  of  these  patients. 


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a Mohammedan  woman,  was  greatly  interested  in  the  Gospel 
news,  and  asked  that  some  one  be  sent  to  her  mother-in-law 
so  that  she  also  might  learn  the  “Way  of  Life.”  I am  greatly 
interested  in  this  family,  and  believe  that  some  time  they  will 
decide  for  Christ, 

“The  patients  include  women  and  children  from  all  classes 
of  native  society,  Hindu,  Musselman,  and  Christian  ; most 
of  them  come  from  Jhansi  but  others  from  neighboring  na- 
tive states,  or  distant  towns  and  villages.  A few  months  ago 
we  had  a patient  from  the  native  state  of  Datia,  where  no 
mission  work  has  ever  been  done.  Besides  a successful  oper- 
ation, we  taught  her  to  read  in  Hindi,  her  own  language,  and 
when  she  returned  to  her  home,  she  took  with  her  many 
tracts  and  portions  of  Scripture,  which  she  promised  to  dis- 
tribute carefully.  She  has  been  much  in  our  prayers  since 
she  left  us,  and  we  have  faith  to  believe  that  God  will  bless 
these  efforts  to  His  glory. 

“One  morning  I met  in  the  native  city  a little  girl  who  was 
treated  successfully  in  the  Hospital.  Her  face  beamed  with 
pleasure  when  she  saw  me,  and  she  spoke  gratefully  of  what 
had  been  done  for  her  to  the  several  people  who  stood  near. 
While  with  us  we  taught  her  some  Scripture  verses,  and 
tried  to  give  her  a clear  idea  of  the  way  of  salvation.  She 
is  a Hindu,  and  although  only  nine  years  old  is  married. 

“.A  Bengali  woman  much  interested  in  Christianity,  as  a 
child  went  to  a Mission  school  in  Calcutta,  and  from  what 
she  could  remember.  I think  it  must  have  been  one  of  our 
schools.  She  married  very  young  and  then  all  Christian 
instruction  ceased.  After  twenty  years,  she  came  to  Jhansi, 
where  her  husband  holds  a good  appointment  in  one  of  the 
native  regiments.  I was  called  to  see  her  in  her  home  and 
advised  her  to  come  into  our  Mary  S.  Ackerman-Hoyt  Hos- 
pital. Here  she  has  been  under  treatment  and  Christian 
instruction  the  past  few  weeks.  My  Bengali  circulating  li- 
brary was  a great  help,  and  she  not  only  read  many  of  the 
books  herself,  but  asked  if  she  might  let  her  husband  see 
them.  I seldom  went  into  the  Ward  without  seeing  her  read- 
ing the  Bengali  Bible.  She  professes  to  believe  in  Christ  and 

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would  often  lead  in  prayer  to  Him.  I have  faith  to  believe 
that  she  and  her  husband  will  at  no  distant  date,  decide  to 
take  their  stand  openly  as  Christians. 

“Two  successful  cases  have  won  us  warm  friends.  Among 


MISSION  HOME  AT  JHANSI 


our  patients  was  the  son  of  our  washerman,  who,  being 
new  in  our  Mission,  had  all  the  superstitions  and  prejudices 
of  his  caste.  We  were  not  told  of  the  child’s  illness  until 
he  had  become  worse  under  the  treatment  of  native  doctors. 


and  1 found  him  approaching-  the  crisis  of  pneumonia.  When 
we  persuaded  the  father  to  bring  the  child  to  our  hospital 
vigorous  treatment  was  begun.  In  addition  to  the  little  fel- 
low’s weakness,  he  screamed  constantly  from  an  abscess  in 
the  middle  ear,  brought  on  doubtless  by  lack  of  proper  treat- 
ment in  the  early  stages  of  his  sickness.  His  relatives  were 
sure  that  he  was  possessed  with  a devil  and  insisted  upon 
taking  him  home  and  summoning  the  devil  doctor.  I knew 
he  could  not  survive  this.  Their  treatment  consists  in  beat- 
ing and  torturing  the  patient  under  the  mistaken  idea  that 
they  are  afflicting  the  devil,  who  will  leave  the  patient  and 
find  a more  peaceable  abode. 

“In  the  meantime,  not  only  the  near  relatives  but  many 
people  of  this  caste  had  arrived  at  the  Hospital  and  a loud 
wail  of  lamentation  arose.  Having  prayed  for  strength,  I 
took  the  father  and  grandparents  aside,  and  tried  to  make 
them  see  the  circumstances  in  their  true  light.  Leaving  them 
to  decide,  after  I had  said  everything  I could,  I lifted  my 
heart  to  God  that  He  might  influence  their  decision.  About 
ten  minutes  later,  the  grandfather  came  to  me,  fell  at  my 
feet,  and  said  the  child  was  no  longer  theirs  but  mine, 
which  meant  that  I might  do  with  the  child  as  I liked,  for 
the  entire  responsibility  would  now  rest  upon  me.  Know- 
ing how  the  heart  of  the  grandfather  was  wrapped  up 
in  this  child,  I removed  the  patient  to  a small  Ward,  and 
allowed  the  grandparents  to  pass  the  whole  night  before 
Christmas  with  me  beside  the  sickbed.  I am  bappy  and  grate- 
ful to  say  that  the  little  fellow  has  completely  recovered  and 
is  now  playing  about  in  bis  own  home.  A case  like  this  will 
do  much  in  breaking  down  false  belief  and  worship,  and  we 
hope  that  many  souls  will  come  into  the  True  Light  through 
the  work  in  cur  Hospital. 

“The  other  case  was  Mansuri,  a little  Hindu  girl,  who 
came  to  our  Dispensary  fearfully  burned,  as  her  stepmother 
had  thrown  a lighted  lamp  at  her.  Four  days  after,  she 
was  brought  to  us  in  a most  neglected  condition,  as  her 
relatives  thought  she  was  in  a dying  state  and  were  glad  to 
leave  her  in  our  care.  For  some  time  she  hung  between  life 

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and  death  and  then  a change  for  the  better  set  in,  and  it  was 
beautiful  to  watch  the  effect  on  her  of  kindness  and  good 
food.  As  lier  people  had  given  her  to  us,  we  sent  her  to 
our  Orphanage  at  Cawnpore,  where  she  has  developed  into  a 
beautiful  and  most  interesting  child,  giving  promise  of  un- 
usual intelligence.  She  looks  upon  us  as  her  parents,  and 
to  foster  this  feeling  she  will  pass  her  holidays  with  us,  for 
we  are  praying  that  she  may  develop  into  a good  worker  for 
us,  after  her  education  is  completed. 

IN  THE  NATIVE  CITY. 

“We  spent  nearly  the  whole  of  three  nights  in  the  walled 
city  in  the  most  extreme  heat.  The  house  had  three  rooms 
in  a row  from  front  to  back,  the  middle  room  being  without 
light  or  air  except  what  came  from  the  other  two  rooms. 
They  were  so  filled  with  women  that  we  could  hardly  force 
a way  into  the  middle  room,  about  eight  feet  square,  where 
lay  the  sick  woman.  Here,  too,  were  a few  men.  Can  you 
imagine  the  air  there  was  there  for  that  poor  woman  to 
breathe  ? 

“My  first  duty  was  to  clear  out  all  the  people  and  leave  the 
doors  as  wide  open  as  possible,  but  there  was  not  a breath 
stirring  to  change  the  air  of  that  room.  So  in  that  little 
room,  nearly  fainting  ourselves  in  the  close  air  and  extreme 
heat,  we  worked  nearly  all  night.  The  woman  was  insensi- 
ble and  dying.  After  we  left,  I suddenly  thought  of  some- 
thing I had  forgotten,  and  went  back  into  the  room.  I 
found  that,  contrary  to  the  orders  which  I had  given,  all 
the  women  were  in  there  again,  the  doors  were  shut,  and  on 
the  floor  under  the  woman’s  feet  was  a pan  of  coals.  After 
a few  hours,  when  I went  again,  the  woman  was  dead  and 
the  mourners  in  their  fine  clothes  were  doing  their  best  at 
screaming  and  singing.  When  I stepped  in  among  them 
there  was  dead  silence  for  a moment  or  two,  and  I really 
think  that  for  a fleeting  half  second  they  felt  what  a farce 
they  were  acting.  Can  you  think  for  a moment  that  medi- 
cine or  surgery  are  the  only  things  these  people  need  ? 

EASTER  SERVICE. 

“A  little  Ea.ster  service  was  held  in  our  Dispensary  for 


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“our  people,"  seventy-five  being  present ; the  servants  and 
their  families,  the  pa.tients  in  the  Hospital  who  were  able 
to  sit  up,  our  Christian  teachers,  and  a few  others  who  were 
interested  enough  to  come.  We  sang  some  beautiful  Easter 
hymns,  which  while  we  did  not  sing  them  beautifully,  never- 
theless sounded  well.  We  read  the  Scripture  and  made  a few 
remarks,  and  afterward  the  pastor  of  the  native  church  gave 
a short  Easter  talk,  and  the  women  said  “that  they  heard 
not  only  with  their  ears,  but  with  their  hearts  as  well.”  We 
gave  all  the  Easter  cards  that  have  come  in  the  mission  boxes 
the  last  two  years,  but  that  was  not  enough  for  all  the  chil- 
dren, and  the  grown-ups  would  like  to  have  had  them  also. 

“Every  Dispensary  patient  has  the  Word  preached  to  her, 
and  when  she  has  persons  in  her  household  who  can  read,  a 
tract  in  her  lang'uage  is  given  to  her.  The  testimony 
of  many  Christians  is,  that  they  were  first  led  to  think  of 
God  as  their  Father,  and  of  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  by  read- 
ing a tract  or  some  portion  of  Scripture. 

“Our  in-patients  are  under  regular  Christian  instruction, 
and  it  is  delightful  to  see  how  changed  they  become.  As 
yet  many  have  not  openly  taken  their  stand  as  Christians, 
bnt  we  work,  pray  and  hope,  and  we  ask  your  prayers  that 
God  may  greatly  bless  this  medical  mission  to  His  glory,  and 
to  the  everlasting  good  of  these  poor  people. 

FIRST  BAPTISM. 

“It  is  significant  that  our  first  adult  convert,  who  was  a 
Brahmin  widow  of  about  thirty  years,  decided  to  become  a 
Christian  while  in  our  Hospital. 

“The  day  she  was  baptized  in  our  Dispensary  waiting 
room,  mats  were  spread  on  the  floor  for  some  guests  and 
chairs  for  others,  and  with  the  decorations  of  flowers,  the 
place  looked  beautiful.  The  patients  who  were  able  to  be  out 
of  bed  came,  also  our  Christian  workers,  the  servants  and 
their  families,  making  quite  a large  audience.  The  service 
was  solemn  and  impressive.  Dr.  Holcomh  officiating. 

“Our  patients  are  all  interesting,  and  we  really  long  to 
teach  them  of  a better  life  so  much,  that  it  makes  my  heart 

lO 


just  ache  to  think  of  my  limitations  in  every  way,  language 
and  time,  and  ability,  too. 

“We  are  hoping  to  organize  a real  Sunday  school  later. 
We  have  separate  classes  now  for  various  people,  but  think  it 
will  be  more  interesting  if  they  all  meet  together  for  general 
exercises,  and  are  divided  into  smaller  classes  with  more 
attention  to  age  and  ability.  The  Dispensary  building  seems 
a capital  place  for  a Sunday  school,  with  its  large  waiting 
room,  and  the  four  smaller  rooms  and  two  verandahs  which 
could  be  utilized. 

“To  tell  you  that  we  are  overwhelmed  with  the  possibili- 
ties of  our  future  here,  is  to  say  little.  A teeming  population 
of  sixty  thousand  who  can  be  reached  through  the  blessed 
ministrations  of  medical  skill,  and  the  handful  of  consecrated 
workers  who  are  overburdened  with  the  suffering  that  presses 
on  every  side — these  are  the  two  great  contrasts  which  op- 
press those  who  are  taking  ‘thought  for  the  morrow.’  ” 


Such  is  the  Christlike  work  committed  to  our  care.  The 
opportunity  is  limitless.  The  Hospital  with  its  blessed  minis- 
trations has  opened  many  a zenana  door  closed  for  cen- 
turies to  the  entrance  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  But  we 
have  not  the  money  to  meet  these  ever  widening  demands, 
and  that  is  why  we  tell  you  this  attractive  story.  Here  would 
be  an  investment  that  pays  and  whose  results  you  are  sure 
to  see  in  emancipated  lives  on  the  last  Great  Day  when  the 
things  of  time  bear  the  flash-light  of  eternity. 


The  endowment  of  a bed  is $600.00 

Yearly  expense  of  a bed 25.00 

Salary  of  a missionary  physician 600.00 

Salary  of  a zenana  missionary 600.00 

Salary  of  a native  worker 60.00 

Support  of  a school 50.00 

Will  you  take  your  choice? 


II 


Woman's  Union  Missionary  Society  of  America 
for  Heathen  Lands 


The  Society  was  organized  in  i860,  and  is  the 
pioneer  of  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Societies 
in  America: 

It  is  undenominational,  and  so  it  presents  a united 
Christian  front  to  the  heathen  world. 

It  is  carried  on  entirely  by  women,  with  unsalaried 
officers. 

Its  aim  is  the  salvation  and  elevation  of  heathen 
women. 

“Win  for  Christ,’’  its  motto. 


OFFICERS 

Mrs.  Henry  Johnson,  President. 

Miss  S.  D.  Doremus,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Miss  Elizabeth  B.  Stone,  I Assistant 
^Iiss  Mary  S.  Stone,  j T?easurets. 


The  Missionary  Link,  monthly,  50  cents  a year. 
Mission  Room,  67  Bible  Blouse,  New  York  City. 


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